Direction indicator



P. NIEWIAROWSKI AND T. HALAGARDA.

DIRECTION INDICATOR. APPLICATION FILED FEB. I0.`I92I.

Pand Mar. 14, 1922.

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P. NIEWIAROWSKI AND T. HALAGARDA.

DIRECTION INDICATOR. APPLICATION IILlEfJ fEB. l0, 192|.

Patented Mar. 14

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DIRECTION INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Ttatent.V Patented iwal'. 14, 1922.,

Application filed February 10, 1921. I Serial No. 443,911.

T 0 all lw hom it may concern:

Be it known that we, (l) Fiora Ninwmnowsni and (2) ToMAsz HALAGARDA, (1) a citizen of the United States of America, and (2) a citizen of Poland, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Direction Indicators, of which the following is aspecitication. Y

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in direction indicators for vehicles, and the primary object of the invention is to greatly improve the form of signal or indicator shown and described in the TJnited States patent to Piotr Niewiarowski No. 1,353,359, September 21, 1920.

One object of the invention is to simplify the operating mechanism of signals oit' this character so that by the special manipulation of a single member, the indicator member may be extended and swung` to the right or to the left at will. Y

` A further object of theinvention is to provide an improved construction wherein the n'ianipulation of the operating member or handle will control circuits to illuminating means and an audible signal when the signal' member is extended.

Still another object of the invention. is to provide an improved guiding means for the operating member or handle for limiting movement of the latter to the proper ldistance when operated for swinging the signal member to the right or to the left, or when returning it to its normal intermediate position, as well as for properly limiting the movement of, said member or handle whenmanipulated to extend the signal member when in either of its horizontallyswuug positions, said guiding means being constructed to engage the operating member or handle so as to normally releasably retain the signal in either of its raised positions.

Another object of the invention is to generally improve and simplify structures of this kind so that the same will be extremely simple in construction as well as durable and efficient in operation for meeting all of the requirements for a successful commercial use. s

With the above general objects in view and others that will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and claimed.v

In the drawings,lwherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several' views,l

Figure 1` is a side elevational view of the device attached to an automobile and lconstructed in accordance with thev present invention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view 'of the signal, drawn on a larger scale and with parts broken away, y v

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional View taken upon line IV--IV of Fig.V 3, and show-4 ing the electrical circuits somewhat,f diagram-` matically.

Figure 5 1s rear -elevational view ofthe device shown in Fig. 3,

Figure 6 .is a horizontal sectional view taken upon line VI-VI of Fig. 3, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side elevational viewV oi' a modified formof signal member' which may be employed with the mech anism.,

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 5 designates a frame or casing through which extends an upright rotatably mountedtube 6, the lower end of which has'L a spur pinion 7 keyed thereon, the pinion 7 being arranged within the casing 5 and meshing with a relatively large spur gear which isrotatably mounted in the casing 5 and which is provided with a rigid stub shaft 9 which projects rdownwardly through the bottom wall of the casing 5,1 and operating member or handlever 1() being 'pivoted at its forward enel as at 11 tothe-lower end of said stub shaft 9, for vertical swinging movement. The pinion 7 prevents downward movement of the tube 6 through the easing y5, and nuts'12 or the like are provided on the tube 6 so as to prevent upward movement of thesame relative to the casing- 5.

VPassingthrongh a longitudinally extending elongated slot 13 in the upper portion of tube 6, is a Vvertically slidable ear 14 which, in combination with the fixed lug `15, is pivotally attached to a system of simple levers, forming an extensible lazy tong arm 16 to which longitudinal movement is imlever l0.` A hand 1S for pointing direction,

is attached to a transverse bar or plate 19, and the latter isconnected bysuitablc pivot pins to the outer elements oi the extensible arm 16, one pivot being fixed as at and the other being slidable in the slot 21 of the plate 19; The handle 10 and tube 17 are4 normally held depressed or lowered by means of a compression spring 22 which is arranged within the tube 6 between` an abutment 23 which is fixed; in the upper end portionef'said tube, and the upperend of the tubular rod 17, whereby the lazy tongarm 16 is normally held in collapsed condition with the hand retracted. Y

The tubular rod 17 has a slot rod 24 eX- tending therethrough andlixed therein, said rod 24 beingextended upwardly beyond the upper end of the rod 1.7 and through the spring 22 where it terminates normally in spaced relationto the central contact 25 of an incandescent lamp 2G whichis suitably removably fixed in. the upper end of the tube G. The rod 24 is` suitablyinsulated as at 27 from the rod 17 and other surrounding metalic parts,` and a segmental contact plate 28'is suitably fixed to the projecting lower endet` the rod 24 so. as to` be insulatedfrom the -Jrod 17 andto be engaged bythe arcuate plate- 29 which is fixed tothe handV lever 10, when the latter is in `any of its horizontally swung positions, whereby upward movement of said hand lever will cause simultaneous upward movement of the yrods 17 andA 24 when` said hand le-ver is in any'of: its said positions. Theshell ot' the lamp `26` is in electrical connection with the tube 6, and also with the casing 5, one wall of which is .provided with a grounded bind` ing` post 30.` The binding post 30 is electrically connected bymeans of a Wire 31 to one contact 32 of -a switch, the other contact 33 ol' said switch being connected to one side of a battery 34 whose other side is connected` by meansof wire 35 with the binding post 3G of a yieldablc Contact arm 37 which isinsulated from the casing 5 as at 38 and` which is arrangedin the path ot the plate 28 so. as to be engaged by the latter when therod 17 is elevated a sullicient distance. ItA will thusbeseenthat when the contact 33 is engaged with the contact 32,

:Free end Vble signal such as horn 44, the other side of Said signal being' connected with the wire 31, and the contact 40 being arranged with its portion directly above and normally in slight spaced relationto the free end por` tion ol the contact 37. V Thus, when the plate 253 is suiiicicntly elevated. the lamp 26 will not only be lighted, but the contacts 37 and 40 will bc engaged with eachotherior closing the .circuit to the audible. signal 44 and thereby calling attention of pedestrians and the like to the intended change in direction indicated by the hand 18.

As shown in Fig. 7, the hand 18 may be constructed so as` to offerV little resistance to the wind and so as to have a conspicuous and. ornamental appearance, by stamping the saine from sheet metal to provide numerous relatively large openings or periferetions 18 therethrough and by providing the Vlingers with colored borders as at 45, special openings 46 being provided to have the appearance ot the finger and thuinbnailsoi the hand.

A vertical plate'47 isV fixed to the rear of the casing 5 so as to project above and below the latter, and this plateisformed with a top flange 48 through which suitable Afastening devices maybe passed torrigidl mounting the device as indicated in Fig. 1 in :Front of the drivers seat su'lliciently midway between the sides of the vehicle and with the tube t5 extending upwardly ot' the wind shield A oit the vehicle, the hand lever 10 being disposed adjacent the dash oi the vehicle vwithin convenient reach of the operator. The plate 47 has a substantially E-shaped slot 49 formed therein, with the back portion of the E-shaped slot horizontally disposed adjacent the lower edge of the plate 47 and `with the legs or armsr of said slot extending upwardly. The shank of the hand lever 10 projectstlirough this slot 49, and it will thus be seen that said lever Awill be ell'ectively guidedV and limitedV in;

movement lor proper manipulation of the signal. In other words,.whcn the lever 10 isV disposed in itsnormalpositon shownin Fig. 5, the operator may raise theV same to a position. in the upper end of the central -leg' of the slot 49 for extending the hand lili) iioV cidental horizontal swinging movement of the signal arm. Upon swinging the lever 10 to the right, said lever will cause rotation of' the gear S toward the left and this will cause rotation of the tube G and signal arm 1G to the right-by transmission of the motion Vtrom gear S to tube G'through pinion T. On the other hand, if the lever 10 is swung to the left, similar swinging movement-is imparted to the arm 16. In this way the arm may be swung either to the right or lett as desired, for indicating the drivers intent to turn in either one of these directions, and as soon as the arm has been swung to its desired position, it can be immediately' extended by -further manipulation ot' the same lever 10 by swinging the same upwardly. The operation of the device is thus exceedingly simplified and improved as a plurality of controlling members for pertorming these two functions have been employed heretofore as in the above mentioned patent at 15 and 21.

It will, of course, be understood that the arm 16 may be extended during the day time by simply moving the lever 10 upwardly a slight distance, without causing contact between the plate 2S and yieldable contact so as to avoid lighting of the lamp 26 at such time.

As the several opera-tions of the device and the general manner of employing the construction as a drive signal have been dealt with in describing the structure otv the invention, it is believed. that the construction and operation of the invention as well as the advantages ot' the same will be readily understood and appreciated from the foregoing description by those skilled in the art.

What is claimed as new is 1. A vehicle drive-signal comprising an extensible signal arm rotatably mounted for horizontal swinging movement, means including a single operating member to horizontally swing and to extend 'said arm, and means to prevent extension of the arm until it has been swung to a predetermined position.

A. vehicle drive signal comprising an extensible signal arm rotatably mounted for horizontal swinging movement, means including a single operating member to horizontally swing and to extend said arm,and means to prevent extension of the arm until it has been swung to a predetermined position, said last named means providing a central normal rest position'and right and left rest positions at the opposite sides thereof for the operating member.

3. In a vehicle direction signal, a rotatable upright member, an extensible signal arm carried by and rotatable with said upright member, a vertically movable element carried by the rotatable member and operatively connected to the extensible arm so as to cause the latter to extend upon sliding movement of' said element, anda single lever operatively connected to the rotatable up'- right mem-ber and operatively associated with the sliding element whereby horizontal swinging movement of the lever will cause horizontal swinging movement of said extensible arm, and whereby vertical swinging movement of said lever will cause sliding of the slidable element for extending said arm.

et. In a vehicle direction signal, a rotatable upright member, an extensible signal arm carried by and rotatable with said upright member, a vertically movable element carried by the rotatable member and operatively connected to the extensible arm so as to cause the latter toyextend upon sliding movement of said element,'a single lever operativelyconnected to the rotatable upright member and operatively associated with the sliding element whereby horizontal swinging movement of the lever will cause horizontal swinging movement of said extensible arm, whereby vertical swinging movement of said lever will cause sliding of the slidable element for extending said arm, and means to prevent accidental swinging movement of the lever when the extensible arm is collapsed.

5. In a vehicle direction signal, a rotatableupright member, an extensible'signal arm carried by and rotatable with said upright member, a vertically movable element carried by the rotatable member and operatively connected to the extensible arm so as to cause the latter to extend upon sliding movement ot said element, a single lever operatively connected to the rotatable up-V right member and operatively associated with the sliding element whereby horizontal swinging movement of the lever will cause horizontal swinging movement of said extensible arm, whereby vertical swinging movement of said lever will cause sliding of the slidable element for extending said arm, and means to prevent accidental swinging movement of the lever when the extensible arm is collapsed and when said lever is in either of three predetermined different horizontally swung positions.

6. In ay vehicle direction signal, a rotatablel upright member, an extensible signal `arm carried'by and rotatable with said upright member, a vertically movable element carried by the rotatable member and Voperatively connected to the extensible arm so as to cause the vlatter to extend upon sliding movement of said element, a'single lever operatively connected to the rotatable upright member and operatively associated with the sliding element whereby horizontal swinging movement of the lever will cause horizontal sii-'inging movement of said extensible arm, whereby vertical swinging movement of said lever will cause sliding of the slidable element Jfor extending said arm, means to prevent `oefkrntal swinging movement of the In testimony whereof We ax our signa- `lever` when the extenslble arm is collapsed tunes 1n presence of two Wltnesses. :md when sal-d lever is in eltherof 'three pre- PIOTR NI'WYIAROWSKI.

determined rfliferent horizontally swung po- 4TOIWASZ HALAGARDA. stions, and means to prevent vertoalswng- Witnesses: jing movement' of the lever except when the R. Z. DABROWSKI,

]eve1 siu said predetermined positions. S. S. DABRO'WSKI. 

